Chapter 9: Suspicion
After opening the treasure chests, it was time to divide the spoils. Su Xiao had obtained a total of 62 battle contribution points, enough to purchase over 80% of the items from the chest's rewards, but he didn't do so. Paradise points were the currency mechanism of Apocalypse Paradise, useless within Reincarnation Paradise. Paradise coins were the hard currency within Reincarnation Paradise.
As for the [Frenzied Hair (Legendary)], it was a one-time-use prop that could bind enemies, but its strength wasn't particularly high, at least in Su Xiao's view.
Therefore, Su Xiao planned to save his battle contribution points. If he came across something good later, he would decisively acquire it.
"Kukulin, you have priority this time. We still have 107 battle contribution points left from before."
The One-Eyed Captain clearly didn't want internal conflict within the team. The battle contribution points they had earned previously had nothing to do with Su Xiao, and this time, Su Xiao was the main force in killing the mini-boss.
"I don't need anything."
"Then we won't be polite."
The One-Eyed Captain took half of the Paradise points first, Duo Luo bought the [Frenzied Hair], and Zuo Sa also exchanged for Paradise points.
[You have obtained 27 battle contribution points.]
[You have obtained 31 battle contribution points.]
[The battle contribution mechanism has been balanced.]
[Current battle contribution points: 120.]
……
Su Xiao wasn't surprised by the sudden increase in battle contribution points. This was the team's balancing mechanism. After all, he had joined the team later and played a key role in the battle. Therefore, when other members consumed battle contribution points, he could receive a portion. Once the balance was complete, this form of distribution would cease.
After dividing the spoils, the group continued their previous actions, heading to Zone C to clear out the undead.
Bubu Wang and Baha were the vanguard, responsible for reconnaissance. Several hundred meters behind, the One-Eyed Captain led the way, followed by Zuo Sa and the Firepower Hand, then Duo Luo, Su Xiao, the Little Healer, and Amu. As for the Sniper, Gulasai, he operated independently.
Walking through the 'forest' of steel bars and concrete components, Su Xiao pulled out a timer from his pocket and glanced at it. Two hours had passed, with 62 hours remaining.
Everyone walked in silence. Most of the surrounding buildings had been pierced through by trees. Within the leaf-shaded windows, undead seemed ready to burst out at any moment.
After advancing for nearly half an hour, the team encountered no undead. This made the One-Eyed Captain's expression brighten. It showed that the two summoned creatures at the front of the team had strong detection abilities.
After walking for nearly an hour, they finally reached the Zone C that the One-Eyed Captain had mentioned. It was an abandoned shopping mall. At the center of the mall was a hall at least 600 square meters in size. The One-Eyed Captain planned to use this hall as a defensive point, set up a formation, and then have Bubu Wang lure the undead into the abandoned mall, using the terrain to kill the enemies.
Soon, the One-Eyed Captain and the others set up a formation inside the mall. The One-Eyed Captain and Amu guarded the front of the stairs inside the mall hall. The Firepower Hand and Zuo Sa were behind the One-Eyed Captain. Duo Luo set up a barrier. The Sniper was by the stairs on the fourth floor. The ceiling of the mall hall opened directly to the rooftop. It was because of this terrain structure that the Lone Wolf Captain chose to clear the undead here.
The barrier was quickly set up, leaving an opening at the main entrance. Once the undead were lured in, this opening would be sealed.
Su Xiao sat on the railing of the mall's fifth floor, flipping a gold coin in his hand. The formation was ready, and they were just waiting for Bubu Wang to lure the undead.
A few minutes later, faint running sounds came from outside the mall.
"They're here."
The One-Eyed Captain took a deep breath, hoping in his heart that Bubu Wang wouldn't lure too many undead. Ordinary undead always came in groups. How many were lured depended entirely on luck.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Bubu Wang ran past the mall entrance. This made the One-Eyed Captain frown.
Rumble, rumble...
The ground trembled slightly. Through the barrier at the mall's front, the One-Eyed Captain and the others saw a dense horde of undead running down the street.
Seeing this number, the One-Eyed Captain's mouth twitched. He quickly rushed to the side of the stairs to take cover. The others nearby did the same.
It was like a thousand-strong army surging past. A minute later, the area in front of the mall fell silent again. The One-Eyed Captain and the others let out a long sigh of relief.
At most five minutes later, Bubu Wang's figure appeared again. He sprinted to the mall entrance, executed a drift, nearly scraping his prostate on the brakes, and dashed into the mall.
"Roar!"
Roars came from behind. Over a hundred undead swarmed in through the main entrance of the mall. The battle began...
The sun gradually set on the horizon, and the sky slowly darkened.
Inside the mall at this time, the hall was littered with the corpses of undead. The undead's comprehensive attributes were around 70 to 80 points, with a few having one type of true attribute. They only had two abilities.
Magma burned the corpses. Under Amu's control, the magma gradually cooled.
Su Xiao sat on the railing of the fifth floor, holding a tablet computer, deeply engrossed in a game.
"Let's call it a day here."
The One-Eyed Captain wiped the red viscous liquid from his face. It was a mix of blood and sweat. After ten hours of high-intensity combat, the hand holding his shield began to ache.
Hearing this, Zuo Sa abandoned his pretense of being aloof and lay directly on the ground, gasping for breath. He felt he was about to collapse from exhaustion.
The Firepower Hand leaned against the wall, his hand trembling as he lit a cigarette. Duo Luo's fitted white shirt was soaked through with sweat. In the last two hours, she had also entered the fray for mid-range combat.
The Little Healer slumped to the ground, looking as if her body had been drained.
"It's almost dinner time."
Su Xiao, sitting on the fifth-floor railing, spoke up. He hadn't participated in the battle at all but had cleared three levels of a hellishly difficult puzzle game.
"Let me... lie down a bit more."
The One-Eyed Captain spoke weakly. He glanced at Amu, who had also been fighting until now and should be quite exhausted. Moreover, Amu was injured, constantly holding his stomach.
"I'll handle dinner."
Su Xiao looked at the team members, all lying down from exhaustion. If he didn't prepare some food now, dinner would basically be a wash.
"Kukulin, I sincerely thank you."
"A good man."
"Get me a portion. Anything edible will do."
"Thanks."
Even the aloof young man Zuo Sa expressed his gratitude. This showed how exhausted the Ranger Squad was. Today was a mix of pain and joy. In just one day, the undead clearance rate had reached 8.9%, very close to 10%. By tomorrow morning at the latest, the task would be complete. Then they could return to the Contractor Camp to take on the next task. It was simply wonderful.
Bubu Wang and Baha lured 100 to 150 undead each time, which made the One-Eyed Captain and the others extremely comfortable. Previously, Zuo Sa was the one to lure them, and the number was entirely up to fate.
Not only that, but the two auras provided by Bubu Wang were both godlike skills. One restored health and mana, greatly enhancing the team's endurance. The aura itself restored health, and combined with the mana restored to the Little Healer, the healing output doubled.
The other aura restored stamina, increasing stamina recovery by 20%. Without this aura, the One-Eyed Captain and the others would have long since collapsed from exhaustion.
Amu acted as a melee fighter and secondary tank. With Amu as the secondary tank, the One-Eyed Captain felt completely at ease. Every time he made a slight mistake, Amu would knock the enemy back with a hammer, greatly reducing the One-Eyed Captain's pressure. What he didn't know was that Amu was a stronger tank than him.
……
Inside the mall's underground supermarket, shelves were scattered haphazardly, covered in rust. It seemed one could still see the people frantically looting here when the disaster struck. Among the shelves, aside from plastic items, most goods had decayed into piles of dust.
The firewood crackled as it burned. Inside the iron pot, the meat soup boiled, with chopped mushrooms still visible.
The Little Healer and Duo Luo crouched in front of the iron pot, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the brightly colored meat soup inside, occasionally swallowing saliva. Hunger was the best seasoning.
Su Xiao served each person a bowl. Duo Luo took the meat soup and, ignoring how hot it was, took a large gulp, squinting her eyes in bliss.
"Kukulin, your cooking skills are undeniable."
The One-Eyed Captain gave a thumbs up. Su Xiao smiled and glanced at the clock hanging on the shelf. There were 51 hours left.
"Kukulin, there's something I've been curious about."
Duo Luo exhaled a puff of hot air, seemingly asking casually.
"What's the question?"
Su Xiao stirred the boiling soup in the pot with a long-handled ladle, his expression calm.
"You seem... very concerned about time?"
Duo Luo lifted her bowl, and Su Xiao served her another bowl of meat soup.
Duo Luo was starting to suspect, without any reason. It was an intuition she couldn't explain herself.
"Of course I'm concerned about time. The cost of failing a main mission once is painful enough. I don't want to fail twice in a row."
"Is that so."
Duo Luo showed a toothy smile. She hadn't found any flaws in her probing, but the seed of distrust had been planted.
Su Xiao toyed with the gold coin in his hand. Within this team, the most troublesome was Duo Luo, followed by the One-Eyed Captain, then the Little Healer. The Sniper, who remained silent, was also very sharp. Zuo Sa was hiding something, occasionally losing focus. As for the Firepower Hand, his presence was very low, and he was still hard to read.